Loss of a Butterfly
by iamCAMBRIA
Summary: She was puzzling to him. Her scent. Her ways. Her looks. But most of all her actions. Why would a woman with such great beauty and such obvious kindness, hate him so much? Inu no Taisho just couldn't find the reason why Izayoi looked at him the way that she did. Inu no TaishoXIzayoi


Chapter the First:

Perhaps it was the dull lull of the peasants that milled about in the main hall. Or the gentle creak of the large wood doors that tilted ever so slightly on their hinges—that would obviously need to be fixed. Maybe it was even the simplistic chattering of birds outside the palace in the gardens. Whatever the case was, something had caused Inu no Taisho to fall asleep during his monthly hearing with lesser demons.

Mind you, it wasn't as if the Inu-yokai was trying to be rude. In his defense the temperature had been set at perfection. Through the open doors, the sun glittered happily, giving the room a cheery and warm atmosphere—despite the plain moods of the lesser yokai (not many humans dare travel to the House of the West [for good reason too]). So when the silver-haired general's head nodded off, his gold eyes closing ever so slowly—he could not really be blamed.

"Lord Inu no Taisho,"

A gentle hand on his shoulder shook him.

With a soft snort, and a quick flutter of eyelashes, the dog demon awoke with no small amount of embarrassment. He flushed as he noticed his assistant grinning down at him. The lesser Inu-yokai, Hihara, snickered before returning his attention to the crowd. The server's brown haired fluttered in the warm breeze that breached past the doors. Inu no Taisho wanted to doze all over again.

"I did not realize your recent fight with the Lady Shinju had tired you so, my lord." Hihara smirked.

Inu no Taisho winced. "I do not wish to bring up that occurrence. Shinju has left me for good."

"Well, may I be honest with you my lord?" The brown haired Inu asked.

The general nodded. "Of course old friend."

Hihara's smile widened. "I never liked Lady Sesshomaru no Haha anyways."

The lord Inu rolled his eyes before glancing around. "Speaking of my son, where is he?"

The servant tilted his head back. "I think Master Sesshomaru said 'this one will not participate in the practices of humoring the unworthy' or something of the other."

Inu no Taisho could have faced-palmed.

"Takes quite after his Lady Shinju, does he not?"

"More than I wish." The lord sighed. "In all honesty, Hihara, I wish that boy would become more passionate. Already he is so cold and he is but a youth! When he reaches my age, what will Sesshomaru be?"

"A power hungry warlord?"

The withering look Inu no Taisho gave to Hihara made the servant giggle nervously. The brown haired Inu played with the black sleeve of his haori. With a distracting shake of his head and a simple apology of "kidding", he gestured to the peasant bowed in front of them—still murmuring his pleas as if he were unaware of the conversation being held.

Inu no Taisho released a pent-up exhale and looked down upon the demon, a kitsune—a fox yokai. At the end of the demon's spiel, the dog general gave a nod; as if he'd been listening to the entire request.

"I will send a representative immediately."

The kitsune smiled brightly, underneath his bangs that covered his lowered face. "Oh thank you Lord Inu no Taisho."

With a quick wave of his hand a grimace that was supposed to be a reassuring smile, the lord sent the kitsune away for the next complainer—er, petitioner to come forth. A raccoon dog came forward, his paws shaking slightly, and bowed before the Inu-yokai.

"You are allowed to begin."

"My lord, various demons attack weary travelers among the south road, would it not be wise to send forth a few soldiers to protect those on journey?" The raccoon dog murmured not looking up.

"Perhaps it would be a wise investment, I will consider such actions."

"Another request is that you might, in your unending generosity, send a representative to my village. The crops there fail and several of the raccoon dogs hunger."

_A common calamity. _Inu no Taisho thought. _Many of the villages have severe crop failure. If my kingdom is to succeed, I must find the reason as to why this happens so frequently. Perhaps it can be preventable._

"Very well, I will send someone to look into the matter."

"Thank you my lord." The raccoon dog nearly sighed with relief, bowing a final time and leaving quickly.

"Twenty more to go." Hihara whispered into the lord yokai's ear with a smug grin.

Inu no Taisho ignored his complacent friend and beckoned the next demon up. He felt as if time simply dragged by like a nail through wood with each yokai's plea. For a daiyokai, it was fine—he supposed—he would be able to survive a gaggle of poor peasants seeking help. But by all the gods, it was damn boring waiting for these meetings to end. Everything was routine.

Every appeal had a similar cause. The dog demon noticed that crop failure was a major problem. Rice fields seemed to be having major sediment overflow, causing the water pools to become over filled with unhealthy minerals for the growing stalks. Perhaps a system of fences, or irrigation pits would help delay the flow of sediment. The lord knew that some of the silt was good for the rice fields, healthy even—but too much would cause the water to become a nasty muck. Thus, the planting crisis.

With a long sigh, and flutter of his eyes, he looked around. Inu no Taisho saw no end to the line of yokai. They would keep coming. All day, until the sunset there would be a line of requests that as lord, he was obliged to hear.

Something caught his attention though. A smell entered with the wind that briskly breezed by the hall through the open doors. The dog demon closed his eyes and sniffed the scent. It was a pleasant smell; one he did not recognize though. It smelt of fresh cherry blossoms and freshly washed silk. A gentle aroma, nothing over powering.

The sound of rushing guards bursting into the room broke him from his trance. The captain rushed up to Hihara, whispering into the Inu-servant's ear. The brown haired demon listened with a grim expression, his eyes dark. He gave the soldier a halting and hand turned to Inu no Taisho.

"My lord,"

"What is it, Hihara?" the Inu-lord asked, his brow lifting. He sensed no danger on the wind and everything within his hearing sounded in check—so what could be out of the ordinary?

"There is ill news." Hihara murmured. "A human carriage approaches,"

"Human." Inu no Taisho echoed, not entirely believing. "Is this positive?"

"Quite so, the captain saw it for himself." The servant affirmed.

"How many armed?"

"None that were visible, my lord. He said it was just the driver and whoever remained inside the cointainer."

Inu no Taisho scratched his chin, his silver ponytail cascading down the side of his shoulder. "As unlikely as it is, we must presume then, that the human is here for the petitioning today. We can only hope that it is short and that will send whoever it is quickly on their way. With this many yokai in the room, I could not assure a peaceful hearing for very long. Send scouts out to fetch the humans, and bring them here…safely."

Hihara nodded. "Right away, my lord."

The brown haired demon stalked off immediately with the captain and his soldiers leading him. Inu no Taisho massaged his brow, groaning. Of all times it had to happen today. First his day was boring, now there was promise of an outbreak in his palace halls. Just perfect. Deciding it was time to temporarily clear the room, the dog lord stood up. The demons who were babbling about looked up at the sudden movement.

Inu no Taisho looked like a paragon militant model. His kimono and hakama were perfectly snowy why, while the cresses at the ends were tucked in perfectly with his black boots. His bamboo designed armor seemed without nick or blemish while his crimson and maroon obi was tied in just the right style. His mokomoko trailing off of his back like a two-tailed fluffy cloud. The Inu-yokai lord was more than enough to intimidate those lesser ones, and for sure capable of scaring away a few measly humans should the occasion have to rise.

But, instead of ordering the other demons to leave his palace and come back later, he smiled at them warmly, his gold eyes amiable and gleeful.

"My loyal allies—it is past midday and you all have been cooped up inside my main hall. Please, help yourselves and go to my kitchens. My servants will be more than willing to serve all of you some food."

The other demons blinked at the powerful demon lord before them, grinning and smiling like an idiot. It was quite contagious. Soon enough, they too were smiling and leaving in the direction that the Inu was pointing in. Inu no Taisho waited for all of them to leave before dropping his waving hand. His face grimaced a bit and he shivered. He hated doing that it made him feel so…_undignified._

_Thank the gods that Sesshomaru was not there to see such actions, then._ He thought to himself, another small shiver crawling up his spine.

Settling back down onto his sitting cushion, Inu no Taisho waited for Hihara to arrive with the human carrier. In all truth, he was quite curious to find out who would be brave—or perhaps stupid—enough to come to his palace. As he had discovered at a younger age, during the times of query, humans never came close to his palace. True, there were several human villages within his territory. He protected them, perhaps in an indirect way, but none the less he still kept over them. The yokai and the humans knew their boundaries. They knew where they should go and where they shouldn't. The demon district was more than definitely off limits to the mortals…so why was one on the way now?

It wasn't long after that Hihara stepped stiffly through the two large doors to the entrance hall. Inu no Taisho sat up, his attention drawn. The smell of silk and cherry blossoms grew stronger, but not irritatingly so. Behind Hihara was a short human man dressed in peasant's clothes. The Inu-lord's brow quirked. So this was the idiot. He played the part.

The short man stepped aside and gestured reassuringly, his brown eyes lowered to the ground.

Inu no Taisho's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

First it was the flourish of a pale pink haori that swished past the door; then it was streaming rivets of ebony black hair. A beautiful red yukata followed, giving the signs of some sort of nobility status. Within the beauty of those things, like a gift, was a young woman. Her pale skin shinned like the moon, and her pale lips were as natural as the pink on her haori. Her dark brown eyes shook with fear but there was a certain determination in them.

Inu no Taisho couldn't breathe. It was if the world had stopped for a second just for him to see the presence of such a fragile creature before him. In his travels, the dog general had encountered many human women. Most snotty, disgusting, fat, or self-centered things that repelled him to no end. But this woman—no, girl—was something different. It was as if an aura of peace settled upon her resolute façade. His gold eyes shivered.

In what name of the gods was this creature?

The woman sunk to her knees before the Inu-lord and prostrated herself in front of him.

"Oh mighty yokai of the West. I beg you, listen to me." She pleaded her voice quivering.

Inu no Taisho stiffened before words came tumbling from his mouth. "What name are you addressed by, human?"

She did not lift her head from the ground. "My name is Izayoi."

_Izayoi. _His mind whispered. "What have you come to ask me, Lady Izayoi of the humans?"

In all honesty, he expected a plea for a longer life. Or riches. Or fame. Or glory. What he did not expect was her truthful answer.

"Your help, my lord." She whispered. "My people, your people as well I suppose. Our crop is failing us. The rice has begun to wither and the hay we have produce for our live stock has not grown. A famine is going about, and we are suffering very greatly."

Inu no Taisho shifted. "Many of my provinces are suffering from food shortage. What makes yours better above everyone else's?"

"Nothing makes my kind better than your own, my lord." Izayoi answered, her head still pressed against the floor. "But we are still of your kingdom. It was my people's greatest hopes that you could assist us in our times of need. No others would come, for they rightfully fear you and your wrath. Many have witnessed your esteemed battle prowess and for that they dare not approach my village. You are our only hope, my lord."

_Such respect. _The dog lord marveled. "And what would you have me do? I am an Inu-yokai, not a weather spirit."

"It was my hopes that in your long years of wisdom you would know how to save our crops."

"This is entirely your assumption."

"Yes my lord. Are you not very wise in your age? Many have claimed so. Your knowledge and aid are what we seek."

Inu no Taisho uttered. "You were very foolish, coming here today in the presence of so many yokai, Lady Izayoi."

"I know, but if I did not. There was no way that I would have been able to ask you what need to be asked, my lord."

He hummed, moved by her courage. "Well, then. Human or not, I am not one to turn down a province because of their race. In three days' time I will come down to your town and see what I can discern from the crop failure."

"Thank you very much, my lord. I could ask for nothing more." She sighed with relief.

_I offered my own personal assistance, what made me do such an absurd thing?_ The Inu-yokai bemused, his expression befuddle. "Then do not ask for more. Rise and go on your way, Lady Izayoi."

He expected some sort of adoring look. Or perhaps even a glance of infinite gratitude. What Inu no Taisho did not anticipate was the murderous look glared his way by the lady. Of course it disappeared very quickly, her brown eye softened almost immediately and her lips tilted upward in a sign of obvious relief. Tears formed at the corners of her bovine like eyes and she gave another respectful bow.

Inu no Taisho numbly looked at her.

"I will go home and make sure a room is prepared for you, my lord. Such an honored guest deserves a good welcoming." Izayoi nodded thoughtful.

"Thank you."

She pulled her haori closed and tied it together with the gold obi that had been hanging limply at her sides. The red of the yukata was instantly hidden beneath the thick butterfly decorated jacket. Inu no Taisho almost mourned at the loss of such a bright color.

"I will leave now, my lord. Thank you for listening to my request." She said calmly. "And thank you for clearing out the other demons."

The lord sat back, a small bead of sweat curling down his face. How did she know that he'd cleaned out the hall of the lesser before she'd arrived. She it was the day of beseeching but that didn't imply that many demons came; did it?

With a deep and final bow Izayoi turned around in a graceful manner, almost like a dancer. She walked confidently back to the shorter man who waited for her patiently. She nodded to him with a kind smile gracing her features before carrying on and walking forward. Hihara watched the two wearily. He didn't trust them. Inu no Taisho watched them in confusion. The woman puzzled him. As he watched them leave, he realized that her head had tilted to face him again. He recoiled. The same look in her eyes echoed from her expression before. No human had ever been insane enough to dare look at him in such a way.

So why did this woman who sought him out, who smelled of peaceful things like silk and cherries, look at him with such hate?


End file.
